Chapter 146 – A purple cylindrical object

Translator: ChuRen/ YuQiChen

Upon hearing such harsh criticism and the curse of “falling through the earth’s core”, Shangguan Linlin’s face turned green on the spot.

In their line of work, the word “fall” was the most unacceptable. Even when casually watching short videos, hearing the word “fall” would make her feel extremely unlucky.

Once, she had a new assistant who accidentally uttered those two words, and she scolded the assistant until they cried.

However, at this moment, even though she was seething with anger, she didn’t dare to retort.

Because she could tell which man the highly recognisable voice belonged to by that low and pleasant tone.

She turned around, raised her head to glance at Lu Zeyu, and her heavily made-up eyes were filled with suppressed unwillingness.

But she didn’t dare to say another word.

She gritted her teeth, bowed her head, and hurriedly left.

“Qihan, you’re too soft-spoken. Why bother explaining so much to her?” Lu Zeyu’s voice was full of disdain. “She’s the type who’s trying to get famous by any means necessary, never thinking about taking the right path, only looking to make deals everywhere.”

Yi Qihan patiently explained, “I thought she just wanted what’s best for this production, so I explained the design concept of the plot to her. Because this female lead, her impact on the show is significant. She carries the emotional line and helps advance the main storyline…”

Seeing Yi Qihan starting to delve into the plot, Lu Zeyu quickly interrupted, “You’re too kind. She doesn’t understand anything about the plot, she just wants more screen time.”

Yi Qihan smiled gently, “I know you all aren’t interested in listening to me ramble. I just feel that in case she really wants to discuss the plot, it’s my duty as a screenwriter to explain the script to the actors.”

Lu Zeyu looked at his longtime best friend with a smile that lacked warmth and said, “You really haven’t changed at all.”

Yi Qihan didn’t argue and just smiled with his good nature, gentle and warm like a spring breeze.

For a moment, Tang Qing felt as if there was a halo of a saintly figure above Yi Qihan’s head.

Even someone like Shangguan Linlin could be handled him, truly showing he had what it takes to be a male lead.

The dynamics were vast.

“Let’s go, I’ll treat you to dinner, dedicated senior screenwriter,” Lu Zeyu said, putting his arm around Yi Qihan’s shoulder.

It was clear that the two of them were indeed very close old friends. Tang Qing had never seen Lu Zeyu being so friendly and casual with anyone else.

System 99’s voice suddenly rang out, 【Host! You must stop the villain from going to dinner with the male lead.】

“Why? Could it be that the villain will make a move on the male lead…?”

Childhood friends turning into something more than just friends with the male lead…

Tang Qing had read a story before, where a school heartthrob always considered himself as a childhood friend, serving tea, washing underwear and socks, promising to be lifelong friends with the childhood friend, vowing to be a bachelor together, only to end up seducing the childhood friend in the end.

Truly evil.

【No, Host, what are you thinking? This is a proper romance world, there won’t be those strange stories you’re imagining.】System 99 quickly changed the subject and continued,

【Because at the restaurant they’re going to, the female lead, Xu Wan’er, will be bullied. You know, the male lead should step in as the hero at that moment, and the villain shouldn’t be a third wheel.】

Tang Qing nodded. For some reason, he felt that System 99 was avoiding the topic, showing a hint of guilt.

Strange, where did he hear that story about the school heartthrob¹Ah do we still remember the boot kink ML??

“Over there, that sneaky eavesdropper, let’s go eat together.”

Lu Zeyu’s voice suddenly rang out.

“Ah…”

So Lu Zeyu had noticed him a while ago.

Tang Qing awkwardly walked out, raised his hand, and greeted the two.

Actually, he had heard of Yi Qihan before, but because he joined the crew later and Yi Qihan had previously worked elsewhere, they hadn’t formally met yet.

Yi Qihan shook hands with Tang Qing and smiled, “Gu Minghao has been praising you, saying you’ve been helping him with a lot of work.”

Tang Qing modestly replied, “Oh, no, I’m just learning from him.”

Tang Qing thought to himself, ‘I’m not just helping him with work, I’m even sharing the female lead’s workload, almost participating in the kissing and bed scenes…’

Lu Zeyu watched the two chatting and laughing, feeling a bit uncomfortable for some reason.

Casually, he asked, “Tang Qing, want to join us for dinner?”

“Uh, um, I…I can’t go.” Tang Qing stammered, “Y-you shouldn’t go either, Movie Emperor Lu.”

Lu Zeyu looked puzzled, “Why?”

Tang Qing racked his brains, trying to come up with an answer.

“Because I feel dizzy, I have a cold, I feel really uncomfortable… Can Movie Emperor Lu take me home?”

After saying this, he weakly leaned against the wall.

Yi Qihan quickly asked with concern, “Tang Qing, are you feeling unwell? Let’s take you home now, no need to go for dinner.”

Yi Qihan finished speaking and reached out to help Tang Qing.

However, someone else was already holding Tang Qing’s hand.

The man’s voice was impatient, yet tinged with a hint of nervousness, “I’ll take you back, Qihan drives too slowly.”

Tang Qing nodded and hurriedly said, “Then I’ll trouble Movie Emperor Lu. Qihan-ge, you go ahead, don’t worry about me.”

Yi Qihan still cared, “Then Zeyu, you drive, I’ll take care of Tang Qing. It’s good to have an extra hand. We’re not in a rush to have dinner anyway.”

【Host, you can’t let the male lead accompany you home, otherwise, the female lead will have no one to save her.】System 99 quickly reminded.

Tang Qing held Lu Zeyu’s hand and said to Yi Qihan, “Qihan-ge, thank you for your concern. Movie Emperor Lu can take me, I’m not that weak.”

Yi Qihan guessed that Tang Qing was trying to save face and didn’t want to make him feel awkward, so he nodded, “With Zeyu here, I feel reassured too. You guys go ahead, I’ll head home.”

“No! You can’t go home!”

Both Lu Zeyu and Yi Qihan looked at Tang Qing in confusion.

Tang Qing gritted his teeth, “Qihan-ge, the restaurant you mentioned, I really want to go there too, but I won’t get the chance today, it’s a shame.”

“Qihan-ge, could you go there for me? As long as you go on my behalf, it will fulfill my wish, and I’ll be content.”

Yi Qihan found Tang Qing’s request very strange but still nodded, “Sure, I’ll go check it out and take a photo for you to see.”

Tang Qing nodded, finally managing to coax Yi Qihan away.

Left with just him and Lu Zeyu, they walked into the elevator that led to the parking lot, surrounded by an eerie silence.

The man was tall and imposing, with deep, cold eyes. Standing next to him, Tang Qing felt it was hard to even breathe.

“Qihan-ge?” Lu Zeyu suddenly asked out of the blue.

“What?” Tang Qing asked in confusion.

“Why do you call him like that, are you two close?” The man’s voice sounded deep in the narrow elevator.

“No… I just heard Shangguan Linlin call him that earlier, and I didn’t know what to call him, so I just followed along.”

Actually, Tang Qing knew that Yi Qihan was the male lead of this world, a perfect warm-hearted man, so he couldn’t help but feel closer to him.

“Aren’t you supposed to be my fan?” the man suddenly asked again.

“Yes, yes…” Tang Qing recalled and then remembered what he had said to Lu Zeyu earlier.

“Why don’t you call me like a fan would?” Lu Zeyu’s implication was that his young male fans usually called him “Zeyu-ge” or just “Zeyu.”

Tang Qing thought carefully…

He had seen Lu Zeyu’s fans on Weibo, and it seemed like many girls called him “husband”.

“Well, that might not be appropriate… I’m a bit reserved, so I feel a bit embarrassed.”

Lu Zeyu didn’t insist and casually asked, “Why have you been avoiding me recently?”

“Uh… no, not at all, it’s just…”

Tang Qing suddenly started stuttering. Why was he being asked about something that everyone knew about?

“I’ve just been busy with work…”

The man seemed to reluctantly accept his explanation, considering that Tang Qing was indeed under a lot of pressure because of Shangguan Linlin.

Once out of the elevator, Tang Qing walked straight towards Lu Zeyu’s car.

“You seem quite familiar with my car?” the man asked, puzzled.

“Oh, um, I…” Tang Qing suddenly remembered that the last time he had been in Lu Zeyu’s car, he was using the persona of Honey the cat. It was his first time riding in the man’s car as Tang Qing, so he shouldn’t act so familiar.

“You know, I’m your fan, sometimes I secretly follow you, watching you drive away…” Realizing how creepy that sounded, he quickly added:

“It’s just occasionally, occasionally, I couldn’t help but want to see you, that’s why I acted that way. When I saw you drive out of the set, I stopped following you…”

The young man lowered his head, avoiding eye contact, blushing and awkwardly trying to explain.

Little did he know that his explanation was worse than not explaining at all.

Lu Zeyu usually detested obsessive fans, but this time, he didn’t blame Tang Qing.

Perhaps it was because the young man’s attitude seemed sincere.

Lu Zeyu opened the navigation and let Tang Qing input the address.

He drove quickly and steadily. Soon, they arrived at Tang Qing’s home.

“Xiao Tang, there’s a package for you here.” The doorman pointed to a large box on the ground.

“Okay, thank you, sir.”

Seeing Tang Qing was still unwell, Lu Zeyu bent down to help him pick up the large box.

“Welcome, Movie Emperor Lu, to my humble abode.”

Tang Qing opened the door.

The house he bought wasn’t large, but it was very clean and tidy, everything in its place.

There were several cute plush toys on the sofa, marks of cat scratches on the edge of the sofa, and a huge, luxurious cat climbing frame next to it.

Lu Zeyu handed the box back to Tang Qing.

Tang Qing glanced at it. It was a delivery from Le Ke, with the delivery note only saying “shooting props”, not revealing what it contained.

“Could he be so generous, buying me a Zeiss lens?” Tang Qing murmured.

“Open it and find out,” Lu Zeyu suggested.

Tang Qing was curious, but he couldn’t neglect his guest.

“Movie Emperor Lu, would you like some tea?”

“Anything is fine.”

He poured a cup of black tea for Lu Zeyu, a cup of goat milk for himself, then placed the box on the floor and eagerly began to unpack it.

There were many items inside the box, placed at the top.

It was a purple, unidentified cylindrical²Have any of you guys seen that Reddit post by u/Smart_Calendar1874 the Cylinder that got stuck hahahahah object.

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• 1
  Ah do we still remember the boot kink ML? ↩︎
• 2
  Have any of you guys seen that Reddit post by u/Smart_Calendar1874 the Cylinder that got stuck hahahahah ↩︎